Dr. Jen Irwin
@drjenirwin.bsky.social
10K followers 730 following 470 posts
Professor, Health Promotion, views are my own. Evidence-informed decision-making is important. Integrity matters. N95 wearer. Dog mom. (She/her) 🇨🇦
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drjenirwin.bsky.social
The introduction alone is full of misinformation…have they just given up on evidence-based decision making?
drjenirwin.bsky.social
‘…findings suggest occult hyposmia [reduced sense of smell] following infection w SARS-CoV-2 is common & olfactory testing should be considered after infection to diagnose olfactory dysfunction & counsel patients about the risks of smell loss [e.g., cognitive loss].’

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Olfactory Dysfunction After SARS-CoV-2
This cohort study examines the presence, severity, and patterns of olfactory dysfunction in US adults with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.
jamanetwork.com
drjenirwin.bsky.social
Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all in Canada! 🇨🇦 🥧

P.S., On the off chance local public health units haven’t sent out this message, a reminder that if you’re at all unwell, cancel if you’re hosting & don’t attend someone else’s gathering. Ask your guests to stay home if sick.
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
bill-comeau.bsky.social
I wish employers were more aware of the business benefits of promoting vaccinations for their employees. They could be a powerful force for good health and it would be in their best interest, with fewer sick days. But we are living in a time when basic health advice has become political.
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
maryfernando.bsky.social
50% of Canadians don’t know this:

“The Canadian Cancer Society says drinking about three drinks a day could double the risk of developing cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophagus, and increase the risk of colorectal and breast cancer by one-and-a-half times.”

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Senate debates bill to add warning labels to alcohol packaging | CBC News
Sen. Patrick Brazeau is trying a second time to pass legislation that would add cancer warning labels to alcohol packaging.
www.cbc.ca
drjenirwin.bsky.social
It’s a process that will take some time still before we know…fingers crossed!
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
drjoepajak.bsky.social
Meanwhile, best way to prevent post COVID-19 condition?
Avoid getting or spreading infection, by:
staying home when sick
wearing well-fitted mask
improving indoor ventilation
Vaccination: one of the most effective ways to protect against severe outcomes from COVID-19.
www.canada.ca/en/public-he...
Post-COVID-19 condition (long COVID) - Canada.ca
Information about post COVID-19 condition, also known as long COVID. Symptoms, prevention and treatment, risk factors, resources and what we’re doing.
www.canada.ca
drjenirwin.bsky.social
I don’t have more details, sorry
drjenirwin.bsky.social
Masks required again in all P.E.I. Health Facilities because “Masks are are known to be one of those easy measures that we can implement to ensure the safety and the health of our health-care workforce and our overall health-care system"

www.cbc.ca/news/canad%E...
Masks will be required in all Health P.E.I. facilities starting Oct. 14 | CBC News
Officials with Health P.E.I. say people will have to wear masks inside all of the provincial health authority’s facilities beginning next week.
www.cbc.ca
drjenirwin.bsky.social
‘These findings suggest alterations in immune, glucose, & lipid metabolism pathways + neuroinflammation & neurodegeneration contribute to psychiatric PASC phenotype & highlight potential biomarkers for psychiatric disorders during long-term COVID-19 clinical course.’ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Discovery of molecular signature of long-term psychiatric sequelae in COVID-19 through proteome profiling of dried blood spots - Translational Psychiatry
Translational Psychiatry - Discovery of molecular signature of long-term psychiatric sequelae in COVID-19 through proteome profiling of dried blood spots
www.nature.com
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
jantafrench.bsky.social
“The new research also ‘calls into question the idea that younger individuals and those without risk factors don’t need the vaccine,’ Viswanathan says.”
#AbLeg #AbHealth
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
mark-ungrin.bsky.social
COVID illustrates the future we're rushing towards.

Science warned us COVID is airborne in 2020 - pseudoscience wasted our best chance to stop it. Science gave us vaccines - pseudoscience is taking them away. Science foresaw #longCOVID - pseudoscience is fighting to bury its mistakes.
Trump’s cronies aren’t what broke public health
The structural blind spots that undermine medical progress and how to fix them.
canadahealthwatch.ca
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
mark-ungrin.bsky.social
This is heartbreaking. Widespread misinformation in healthcare sacrifices patient safety, just to protect a few senior infection control leaders from accountability for ignoring aerosol transmission of COVID. And the longer it goes on the more harm builds up, and the worse the conflicts of interest.
taniaspencer.bsky.social
My partner has his final chemo infusion today. As usual, he will be the only person wearing an #N95 mask at #Whitehorse hospital.

None of the #Chemo nurses mask, in spite of knowing that chemo patients are immunocompromised.

And 1 in 90 people in the North are currently infected with #COVID -
gayfabfourfan.bsky.social
It’s hard to describe how creepy and unsettling it is being one of the few people at a medical facility wearing a mask now, who knows a dangerous virus continues to freely circulate in the air.

How could public health fail us all so badly? How could we fail each other so spectacularly? #COVID
drjenirwin.bsky.social
Enrollment is now open for a new, free e-course, "Social policy and conflict prevention in the MENA region."

Developed by the University of Birmingham, the University of Bath and a network of UK and international partners. Four-week course.

www.futurelearn.com/courses/soci...
Social policy and conflict prevention: MENA region - Online Course - FutureLearn
Explore the dynamics between social policy and conflict prevention in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with this online course from The University of Birmingham.
www.futurelearn.com
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
brownecfm.bsky.social
1. I've had a surprising number of conversations about Covid-19 over the past week or so, all sparked by the fact that I was, as always, wearing an FFP2 respirator. People in healthcare facilities, taxi drivers, people on trains and buses.
drjenirwin.bsky.social
“Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Myocarditis Prevalence and Diagnostics in COVID-19:Acute, Post-COVID, and MIS-C (2020–2025)”
www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/14...
www.mdpi.com
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
theomoudakis.bsky.social
Please enjoy my cartoon for Wednesday's Toronto Star